GAMERS GATHERED FOR BATTLE TO SEE WHO WAS THE BEST

(SOUTHLAKE, TX) October 23, 2007– Gamers from around the country descended upon the AT&T Plaza at Victory Park in Dallas early this month to determine who was the best gamer at the Midnight Gaming Championship finals. When the doors opened at 8:00 p.m., the ultimate battle of gaming skills began and culminated with the crowning of the Midnight Gaming Championship Champions.

The event, produced by Affinity Sports Marketing, featured 230 winners from the previous Midnight Gaming Championship tournaments held at various McDonald’s locations in 19 cities across the U.S. from June through September. Those finalists competed for a fierce prize package of $3,000 cash, an MGC Championship Trophy and bragging rights of being named the best gamer.

“The Midnight Gaming Championship was created to give gamers an opportunity to compete in a tournament where they might not otherwise have a chance,” said Bryan Pettigrew, president of Affinity Sports Marketing.“We have been pleased with the growth of the tournament, and look to expand it to even more cities next year.”

Pettigrew also commented that this tournament provided more than just the opportunity to be the best gamer.“We were privileged to provide some of the participants the chance to travel out of their home states and on airplanes for the first time.”

The games and their champions were: Chris Cade from Oklahoma City, OK, who was the champion of Super Smash Bros. Melee from Nintendo; Nation Meyer from Petaluma, CA, who won the NBA 2K7 by 2K Sports, and Danny Sandoval from Lakewood, CA, was the champ of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRAW2) by Ubisoft. Additionally, Seth Monteleone from Dallas, NC, was the champion for the first ever 3-D tournament from Headplay featuring GTR2 FIA GT Racing Game published by Viva Media; and, Ian Estes from Ogden, UT, won the first ever mainstream mobile tournament from I-play featuring The Fast and the Furious: Fugitive.

As a bonus, MGC officials gave spectators a chance to compete in free gaming tournaments for their chance to win cash and prizes, too. The winner of the All Pro Football 2K8 tournament, Robert Jackson from Plano, TX, received a trip to the Spike Video Game Awards presented by Time Warner Cable and Spike TV. Additionally, Duwan Baker from Charlotte, NC, won the Wii Bowling tournamentand Game Chavez from Haltom, TX, won the Konami Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer’07 tournament. Lucky gamer, Reynaldo Gonzales from Daly City, CA, won the Ultimate Gamer Gear Raffle - valued at $2,500 - which included a Microsoft Xbox 360, a Sony PS3, a Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and Headplay personal cinema system.

“This is the second year McDonald’s has sponsored the MGC tournament and we are thrilled to connect with the young adult consumer in a fresh way,” said Jerome Elenez, McDonald’s Dallas-area marketing director.“The gaming community has enthusiastically embraced the tournaments, and we look forward to a continued partnership.”

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